Saved Me

✨ c h a p t e r t w e n t y n i n e ✨

"I–I think we should get ready," I managed to say. He smirked against my neck, giving it one last kiss before pulling away. "I have a pair of sweats that might fit you. I can give you one of my d-dad's old shirts." As I made a move to get up, he latched onto my arm.

"You sure?" he asked, his eyebrows furrowed together. I smiled, kissed his forehead and got up. I tossed him a pair of sweats that I used to wear before it got too big for me. I wasn't the skinniest person freshman year.

I stood in front of my parents' room for a few minutes. The doorknob felt cold, untouched.

There was nothing different about the room since I last stepped in it. After their funeral, I kept the door closed and never stepped foot in it. It was ─ still is ─ a sacred place. The deep maroon walls surrounded the perimeter of the room. A few picture frames were on the wall, but other than that, the walls were bare.

My mother's vanity sat in the corner. An opened eyeliner pencil, a mascara bottle, and foundation laid on the table. The rest of her makeup was scattered inside a medium sized makeup bag. Her hair brush sat on one end of the table and all her hair care products on the other. She wasn't necessarily the dirtiest person, nor was she the most organized person. She even had a pair of emergency shoes and clothing for all occassions in the car.

My father had a tendency to throw his dirty clothes into a pile on top of his desk chair. It ended up being of no use since he never worked in his bedroom so that became his hamper. He hung his ties around the doorknob of his closet doors. He also kept a case of water underneath his side of the bed because my mother got fed up of waking up in the middle of the night so he could hydrate himself.

For a second I could picture myself sneaking into their bed in the afternoon. Sometimes when I come home from school, my mom would be home from work. She'd always try to sneak a nap in and sometimes I would join her. Most of the time, Dad would join and we'd all sleep for a while. Other times, he'd wake us up by being obnoxiously loud. Those were the days when he had a hard day, which was usually rare.

I sat down on their bed ─ which was still comfy ─ and held the picture frame that was on their bedside table. It was a picture of the three of us at my sweet sixteen. I didn't do anything extravagant like your typical sixteen year old girl ─ that wasn't my thing. I was more family oriented so they threw me a party at home. We turned our living room into a "ballroom" and had a Fairy Tale themed party. I may not be your average girl, but that didn't mean I didn't like princesses and dressing up all pretty and stuff.

I was in a red cocktail ball gown with black pumps. My mother was in a similar dress like me, except her's was floor length. My dad wore a red button down shirt with black slacks. We all had massive smiles on my face, laughing at something Uncle Ben did, when the picture was taken. I smiled softly, tracing the design on the frame.

"Am I interrupting?" I looked up, nearly dropping the picture in surprise. Roman was wearing the sweats I gave him, his hair wet and disheveled. I tried to ignore the fact that his toned, tan chest was on display.

"Sorry, I got distracted," I mumbled. I put the frame back down and quickly went towards their closet.

Roman grabbed my arm before I could open it. His thumb stroked my cheek softly, wiping away a stray tear that I didn't notice. "You sure you're okay?" he asked, his voice low. I nodded, giving him a small smile. He returned it before letting me go. I opened the closet and rifled through until I found the box that held my dad's old high school shirts. Let's just say he had plenty of school spirit to go around, twice.

After I showered and changed into a pair of shorts and a loose tank top, I made use of the kitchen. I haven't cooked as much after my parents' death but it felt right, especially because I was home. My mother and I used to cook together all the time. It was our favorite thing to do together. She was more of the entree person, I was more of the dessert person; but we switched recipes from time to time.

Roman wrapped his arms around my waist, kissing the back of my head. "Sorry there's not a lot of options, two minute noodles were my go-to when I was home," I murmured.

"You have nothing to apologize for babe," he said, rubbing my stomach. "Besides, I give you Ramen every time you come over." I smiled, looking up at him. He kissed my lips briefly. "I really missed you." And I could tell he did ─ the way he looked much happier than when I saw him last night. It seems like the past couple of days strengthened us in some sort of way. We couldn't go two minutes without holding onto each other. It was as if by doing so, we were being held onto the ground; as if we were what was keeping each other rooted here.

"I'm sorry I left, Rome." I ducked my head, watching the water slowly begin to boil. "I wasn't thinking about anyone when I left. Their anniversary's coming up next week. I–I needed to be here."

"I know babygirl, I know. I'm not blaming you for anything at all."

"Be mine again?" I asked, peeking up at him. He grinned at me, his eyes twinkling.

"Making the first move, huh?" I rolled my eyes, a smiling playing on my lips.

"Take it or leave it," I retorted. He chuckled, turning me around so he could grab my ass. I squealed as he lifted me up, my arms and legs wrapping around his body automatically. "Can I take you right here?"

"I–I, um..."

"I'll take that as an aye-aye capt'n," he said, winking at me.

I blushed furiously as he laughed loudly; and soon enough, I was laughing with him.

A/N: I don't have anything to rant about today ://

stay strong xo